from arcspace
” Inspired by the whirl streams of the sea, shoals of fish, and swirling starlings turning the sky black, the Blue Planet is shaped as a great whirlpool.
Raised a few meters above the terrain, overlooking the Øresund strait, the whirl-shaped building connects land and sea, drawing both the great outdoors and visitors inside. [...] Read”
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Popularity: 1% [?]
from The Guardian
‘Gateway to the heavens’ … Kielder Observatory. Photograph: Charles Barclay
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“It is the darkest place in England. The Kielder Forest, occupying 250 square miles and situated just where Northumberland brushes against Scotland, has the lowest levels of light pollution in the country - making it the perfect place to watch the stars. Here, far from towns and cities, where all that artificial light smogs up the skies, Charles Barclay, a young, London-based architect, has designed a gloriously inventive yet low-key observatory. It is a place where amateur stargazers and professional astronomers can share telescopes, viewing platforms, ideas and knowledge, beneath one of the most wonderful sights the country has to offer, as the sun sets on clear days and eyes adjust to the seemingly infinite expanse of stars above.
‘Kielder observatory is situated on Black Fell, just outside Kielder village - Photograph: Charles Barclay
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This really is a remote spot. It is the last great, uninvaded playground of the red squirrel, as well as home to otters, roe deer, six species of bat (happily evident in the hot summer skies) and any number of birds of prey, from goshawks to windhovers. Unless you are prepared to drive, though, the Kielder Observatory, built for the Forestry Commission and the Kielder Partnership, is very hard to get to. The last passenger train stopped at Kielder Forest station in 1956. If trains were running along the route today, they would be busy all summer: there is so much to see, by day as well as by night. There’s the vast reservoir, opened in 1982 and almost instantly redundant, designed to quench the thirst of heavy industry along the Tyne, Wear and Tees. There are 155m trees, great stretches of moor and bog, and a cluster of enigmatic artworks, plus numerous other structures - including Japanese architect Kisa Kawakami’s Mirage, which features 1,000 steel discs woven between trees - all commissioned over the years by the Kielder Partnership.
And now there’s the observatory. I finally got here by the post bus that runs morning and afternoon from Hexham, half an hour from Newcastle upon Tyne by train. The observatory - which is not staffed all the time, so check before you go - is a small wonder, a kind of wooden pier stretching over land. When the doors of the turrets concealing its telescopes glide open, it looks like a child’s drawing of a warship. With its decks and galley, its largely timber and steel construction, and great views out across the waters of Kielder Forest, the observatory really does feel like a ship at sea - especially as night settles in and only the ghostly shrieks of barn owls remind you that you are a long way from tidal waters.
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Set on concrete stilts, the observatory has two hand-cranked, rotating telescope turrets; between them sits an open-air terrace where amateur stargazers can unfold their telescopes, and a timber retreat called the “warm room”. This is where professional astronomers can operate the smaller telescope remotely, by computer. The room is equipped with a stove, and there’s a compost lavatory next door. All the energy the observatory needs is generated by a 2.5kw wind turbine and by solar power. This special building touches down on the Kielder landscape as gently as a long-legged fly on the nearby reservoir.
It has not been expensive: the total cost, including equipment, was £415,000. Projects like this will never make architects well off, yet who could resist such a challenge? Charles Barclay was a natural choice. He has a good feel for buildings that are inventive and gentle, as well as being imaginative and economical; his best work includes the renovation and remodelling of an 18th-century barn in the Cotswolds, and a new timber house for a Cornish dairy farmer at Liskeard.
There were more than 200 entries in the competition to design Kielder observatory. The winners were Charles Barclay Architects - Photograph: Charles Barclay
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Barclay’s observatory is a happy balance between what appears to be little more than a simple, almost cartoon-like, timber gangway with some sheds on top and some fine technology inside, with the cranks and cogs needed for the telescope turrets sitting delightfully within the simple wooden walls, floors and ceilings. It is rather like being in an early Victorian steamship, especially in the dark, when the red lamps glow (red keeps light pollution to a minimum). The timber, Douglas fir and Siberian larch, has had to be imported; the abundant supply within Kielder Forest is not suitable for building. Equally, there’s a nice balance between the computer-linked telescope and its larger sibling, a 20in Pulsar Optical, a mighty star-spotting device.
So the Kielder observatory is not just a special building in a special place, but a gateway to the heavens. At night, in the darkness of the forest, the sky is anything but still: shooting stars flare, satellites flash as they spin past, planets appear to rise and fall, and the moon glides by. I trained my telescope on the Dog Star, at its height in summer (hence the phrase “the dog days of summer”). It was the clearest view of it I’ve ever had.
The observatory joins a growing cluster of unpretentious, low-cost British buildings by intelligent architects that offer something way beyond what money can buy, far from the world of crude modern development. These gems include the simple yet sophisticated An Turas ferry shelter on Tiree, designed by Sutherland Hussey Architects; and Tony Fretton’s Faith House on the Dorset coast. Both are, as it happens, good places to watch stars from. And, because of their rarity, these buildings, along with the Kielder Observatory, are curiously exotic, and well worth working that little bit harder to get to - much like the stars themselves.”
The UK’s most famous observatory is in Greenwich. Commissioned in 1675 by Charles II, the facility was designed by Sir Christopher Wren with Robert Hooke - Photograph: Jeremy Horner
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Built from stone in the 1720s, Jaipur observatory in India boasts 14 major devices and is used, among other things, to announce the beginning of the monsoon season- Photograph: Travel Ink
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The huge radio telescope dishes of the Very Large Array (VLA), situated on the plains of San Agustin 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico - Photograph: Roger Ressmeyer
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WM Keck observatory in Hawaii. The twin domes of this station sit atop a volcano - Photograph: Roger Ressmeyer
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Parkes observatory in Australia. The telescope, affectionately known as ‘The Dish’, is one of the largest radio telescopes in the southern hemisphere, and was used by NASA during the Apollo moon missions - Photograph: Ian Waldie/Getty Images
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Popularity: 1% [?]
from Archinect
Tulane University students building a home for a low-income family in New Orleans as featured in the Sundance Channel original series “Architecture School”.
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by Liz Martin
“This Wednesday, August 20, 2008, the Sundance Channel will premiere Architecture Schools. The docudrama follows twelve students enrolled in the Design/Build Program at Tulane University’s School of Architecture as they build a sustainable, design-forward home for a family returning to New Orleans.
Series co-creators Consulting Producer Stan Bertheaud (left) and Director/Executive Producer Michael Selditch(right)
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Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. To architect-turned-director Michael Selditch, Sundance seemed the ideal place to pitch the shows idea of bringing the architectural process to the screen capturing the design-build experience as seen through the student’s eyes.
After positive feedback and interest from Sundance, almost two years later, co-creators Michael Selditch and Stan Bertheaud got the green light in August 2007. “Two years have passed since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and there is still an extraordinary amount of work to be done,” commented Laura Michalchyshyn, Sundance Channel EVP of Programming and Creative Affairs. “This series provides a great opportunity for Sundance Channel to be part of the rebuilding process while presenting inspiring and compelling programming that spotlights sustainable design and the next generation of community planners.”
First, the creative team was given 40k to pull together a 10-minute trailer to show the intent and character of the proposed reality based design/build school project. Bertheaud pitched the idea to several architecture schools throughout the country starting with the renowned Rural Studio, however, Tulane University dealing with post-Katrina New Orleans jumped at the chance to tell their story and showcase their proactive and socially-conscious architecture curriculum.
Yes, in Architecture School (and you have to love that plain-Jane title), there’s a competition. But it doesn’t involve a judge’s panel or weekly stunt challenges. A group of, yes, Tulane University architecture students are assigned to design a low-cost house to be built in an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina; and the winning house gets built. The show walks us through the design process and workshops, explaining principles of modern affordable design along the way, as well as factoids like “shotgun house,” or “stringer”.
There’s conflict, though not the stage managed kind─not that I have anything against the Project Runway style, but this is higher education so to speak. Rather the series accurately shows the combative discussion sessions, we’ve all been a part of with students and professors challenging the designers on their work and how well it serves the low-income residents it’s intended for. “How does your design make better the life of someone who wants to live in the house,” one critic asks, “rather than stoke the ego of the architect who wants to express their nifty idea?” Ouch! As important, the show spends a considerable amount of time with New Orleans neighborhood residents, discussing the hurricane’s effect on them and their hopes for rebuilding.
Tulane University students voting on a house design they will build for a low-income family in New Orleans as featured in the Sundance Channel original series “Architecture School”.
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In a nutshell: “Architecture School” tells the story of twelve idealistic architecture students who are bringing a social mission into the classroom by working with communities and populations that do not traditionally have access to architects. Although it’s considered reality TV, the series was filmed more like an old school documentary told from a classic fly on the wall point-of-view. Selditch, who spent most of the time on-location, mic’d up each student while he asked questions, but took himself, as narrator, out of the final editing leaving the experiences of the team building the house, neighbor’s opinions, the staff at housing services, and the life of the city to tell the story.
Tulane University students building a home for a low-income family in New Orleans as featured in the Sundance Channel original series “Architecture School”.
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Liz Martin interviews co-creators Michael Selditch (MS) and Stan Bertheaud (SB) along with Tulane faculty Professor Byron Mouton (BM) regarding the T.V. series.
LM_ How was the series conceived? And what was the show’s intent?
SB_ Michael Selditch and I are both architects as well as filmmakers. We’ve talked about fusing architecture and film for many years. After visiting Auburn University and seeing what they do in Hale County with Rural Studio, we realized the arc of a design-build studio would be a good story to tell.
MS_ The show touches on many different levels from the students own personal journey to the people living in that neighborhood to the individuals that are desperately trying to get a house to the bigger city issues of knocking down public housing that seems perfectly fine and so on. It comes back to the idea of Sundance really wanting to do the show in New Orleans thinking that it was the ideal place to film this series. It sounds like a cliché, but New Orleans is very much a character in the series-you see a lot of New Orleans culture with the students going to bars listening music, the food, etc.
BM_ The series aim was to capture the studio experience and expose the audience to the creative process. The crew strategically organized filming based on our design-build process spanning two semesters. One of the early episodes exposes the studio learning process during a pin-up critiquing the work and the late night hours students often embrace throughout the semester.
LM_How did you choose the students that were a part of the TV series? Were all students in the class a part of the actual series?
BM_ The class was developed as a design studio and the topic of research was described in the course catalogue. There was no special process. Students simply selected the course of study and signed-up like any other class on campus. All students in the class are visible in the footage, but not all have primary roles.
Front row left to right: Scott Mucci, Carter Scott, Nik Haak, AmaritDulyapaibul, Alex Mangimelli , Ian Daniels, Casey Roccanova, Christina Alvarado-Suarez. Rear from left to right: Sam Richards (co-director), Byron Mouton (director), Kim Lewis, Emilie Taylor (project manager), and Adriana Camacho (kneeling)
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LM_ This is being billed as a reality TV series. Was anything scripted or did the teaching style change as a result of the camera?
BM_ Not really. Once in a while students and faculty were asked to repeat something that had already been said. The series is the result of some editing, but basically what you see is what you get.
SB_ Nothing was scripted. Occasionally we had someone repeat a line if it was garbled the first time through. It’s as real as we could make it. Series is filmed actually like a documentary in an old school “fly on the wall” sense. There’s no artificial competition here. No one gets voted off the island.
MS_ When we get on site, [as director] I might ask a question like. “Begin by telling us how the final design was chosen,” and then the students begin to banter about their final review. That’s where the directing, quote-unquote, comes in for a documentary-style project like this one. I’m never telling anyone what to do or what to say, but I’m also always thinking in my head, “What do I need to tell this story to try and accurately capture it?” So it’s all happening and it’s all real, but as the director you kind of influence and “edit” how to portray all these interesting events to tell the story and tie together activities from episode-to-episode.
LM_Were you able to capture the design or studio learning process on film?
SB_ We spent time in the studio during work hours and after. The after hours conversations of the students were very revealing…and often funny. Watching smart students balance internal design questions with studio politics is pretty engaging…And Byron Mouton, the studio’s professor, is very good on camera. He’s a very comfortable guy to be around so he puts the students at ease. He’s smart too…
MS_ Bryon Mouton has a major presence, but he is not consistently in every episode, in fact, there is probably an episode or two where he’s barely in it. We essentially followed the process of the design-build project and some students were really vocal and others were more behind the scenes; sometimes the faculty stood out and others times they were completely back ground. But there is a scene on the roof, which became Byron’s scene because he’d had a very traumatic experience falling and it was a story he had told us prior to shooting that we thought was really interesting. It was an experience that had happened to him 12 years earlier, but it was a story that was a thread throughout the entire series. For example, there is one student, Carter, who wanted to do a three story house in a two story district and Bryon had a strong opinion of it and you realize it most likely had to do with his fear or trauma from his previous accident. Its one thing that I’m really proud of is that there are a few things, like Bryon’s accident falling off a roof, that arc throughout the series.
LM_Bryon, you had a personal scare a few years back–falling off a roof of a building under construction–how do you deal with that experience and heading up a design-build program?
BM_ Safety is a priority. Yes I had a scare in 1998; I fell from a framing platform and was unconscious for a while. In fact, I had an ‘accelerated brain concussion’ and was forced to spend 6 weeks attending physical and occupational therapy. I’m lucky to have walked away.
That experience strongly influences the way we control the job site and establish limitations of risk. No matter what, the job site and tools are dangerous; we cannot avoid that. However, we do our best to reduce the risks. This responsibility alone justifies the need for three experienced faculty members to be involved during construction. We attempt to lead by example, but we must constantly remind the students to take care. In the end, we cannot forget that they are adults, and they are expected to respond to all situations as such. They do repeatedly rise to that challenge….But we still keep a careful watch.
LM_ Why did you choose Tulane to feature in the series? How do post-Katrina New Orleans issues affect the series?
SB_ I used to teach at Tulane and Katrina had just happened. With my contacts and the national attention the storm focused on the city it was really a no-brainer. Post-Katrina Nola issues permeate the series and Nola is definitely a character. The city is still recovering. We shot in and around the city whenever we could. We spend a good bit of time with the students after hours doing “student stuff”… and it is New Orleans.
MS_ Filming in New Orleans post-Katrina seemed timely. A big realization, or shock to be honest, I had while doing the original 10-minute teaser trailer was that there were a lot of horrible abandoned housing and poverty situations prior to Katrina. When I first went on a tour of the city outskirts with Bryon and Reed Kroloff, who at the time we began filming was Dean of Tulane, I was shocked and said, “the storm did all that?,” and Bryon said well this area has been abandoned for almost 30-years [before Katrina]. The poverty level in some parts of New Orleans would shock the rest of the nation. Of course, there are other cities that have similar problems like if you go to Detroit, or Bronx in NY, or Watts in Los Angeles, but Katrina shed light on this phenomena in the US where not only rebuilding became really important, but also simply those who are in need.
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BM_ There has always been support for our design-build program, but the greatest amount of support was, in fact, provided by H.U.D.. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, while students and faculty were in exile, Ila Berman (associate dean at the time…has since gone off to San Francisco) collected the works and progress of several faculty members and students in effort to assemble and submit a grant proposal. The proposal described the intention to conduct urban research at both the Macro and Micro scale of the city. The $300,000 grant was awarded, and that really propelled the program. Ila concentrated on the study of urban strategies, while I concentrated on the development of dwelling and neighborhood strategies.
As with other educational design/build programs across the nation, the goal was to provide students with the opportunity to work collectively on the design, development and construction of affordable housing prototypes. However, in contrast to programs offered by other schools, students were challenged to develop progressive proposals amidst selected deteriorating neighborhoods of an existing historic urban fabric and of course, the idea of water / flooding.
LM_ What do you think the students will learn from this experience that is different than a normal design studio that never leaves the studio?
BM_ Students leave the program with a sense of group accomplishment rather than individual accomplishment….they learn a very important skill–how to respectfully hold their colleagues accountable for their actions and decisions while still maintaining progress in the workplace. They learn professional conduct amidst the arena of difference in opinion.
SB_ Architecture is often just too abstract, so learning what happens on the job site is invaluable for students…But maybe even more important were the interpersonal lessons learned by all involved, both within the studio group and extending into the neighborhood and city.
MS_ To me, building efficiency beautifully. The house is really beautiful; flawlessly made with a really smart compact plan—no wasted space in that house. It’s on a tight little foot print, its 1200sf house—super small and it is packed with three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living and dining room, kitchen, etc. It’s an efficient floor plan with open feeling the way it’s designed with multiple outdoor spaces off grade. And I think the neighbors’ kind of came around, especially the ones that thought it was ugly at first, once they saw all the interesting and efficient spaces that were built by these students.
LM_ Describe one of your favorite episodes?
MS_ During production, Architecture Record came and did this great little story on what we were all doing and the kids were energized by all the support. This essentially is captured in episode 5, the house designed and fully framed. Then there’s open discussion on the arch record website, people start blogging in and at first they were very supportive and positive, this is great that these students are doing this for New Orleans, congratulations and blah, blah, blah…and then the discussion started going south and became really harsh. One comment was “it looks like terrorists dropped a bomb, what are these kids thinking?” And it kept going and got really unnecessarily cruel. And one student, in particular, got really discouraged and took it really personally. This was one of the students that was really about the altruism of the project. Through this series of events, it comes out on film through this one student, how architects, with the best intentions, can feel completely underappreciated within not only the neighborhood and community they are so desperately trying to heal, but also their peers. If you try and do something out of the norm, it will always open you up to criticism.” Archinect
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Popularity: 1% [?]
from Dezeen
” Here are new images of Capital Hill Residence, a private house in Barvikha Forest close to Moscow, Russia by Zaha Hadid Architects.
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The project, which is currently under construction, will be shown in the Russia Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale from 12 September - 23 November as part of a showcase of work by Russian and foreign architects working in Russia.
Capital Hill Residence is due for completion in 2010.
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Credits - current execution stage
Project architect: Helmut Kinzler
Project designer: Daniel Fiser
Project team: Anat Stern - Daniel Santos-Thomas Sonder
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Popularity: 2% [?]
from Jetson Green
Just one mile from downtown Seattle in Madison Valley, Cascade Built has finished their latest green home, the Alley House. This high-performance home just received LEED Platinum certification last week and, for those that are interested, is on sale for ~$770,000. The home is on an advantageous urban infill lot and features some high-end finishes such as Caesarstone countertops, Kirei doors, and a Liebherr refrigerator.
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In addition to a private bamboo garden, this home has some of the following green features:
Located at 222 26th Avenue, the Alley House will be open for public touring on Saturday, August 23. Register here if you’re interested in checking it out.
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Popularity: 2% [?]
” The house is located on a small plot in IJburg; a suburb of Amsterdam. Designed as a vertical garden giving space to flora and fauna to grow in a densely urbanised area. Closed private spaces contrast with open collective spaces, that seem to have been ‘carved out’ from the solid volume as a continuous transparent void. In this way the interior space is visually and physically connected to the street, the garden and roof terraces. Outdoor- and indoor spaces become one and natural daylight flows into the interior. 3 bedrooms, a small bathroom, WC and a ‘multipurpose hall’ are situated on the ground floor whereas the first floor remains completely open for living, cooking and eating, flooded with daylight. The hall is much more than an entry zone. It also functions as an artist studio, work desk, laundrette and playground. The façade contains specific brick detailing inspired by techniques from the famous Amsterdamse School style from the 1920’s.”
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Popularity: 3% [?]
from Bustler
“On November 13th the prize-giving ceremony will take place in Mendrisio, to award the CHF 100,000 offered by the BSI Architectural Foundation, with the support of the Federal Office for Culture in Bern and the Accademia di architettura in Mendrisio.
On 17 September 2008, the winner of the first “BSI Swiss Architectural Award” will be announced by the architect Mario Botta, Chairman of the award’s Jury. The award – promoted by the BSI Architectural Foundation, with the support of the Federal Office for Culture in Bern and the Accademia di architettura of the Università della Svizzera Italiana in Mendrisio – is given to architects aged under 50, of any nationality, “that contributed, thanks to their work, to contemporary architectural culture showing a particular sensitivity towards environmental balance”.
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3LHD (Zagreb, Croatia): 123 Tower Proposal, Zagreb
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Thirty candidates from 15 countries are in the running for this first edition of the award. They were selected by an international committee of advisors made up of internationally respected architects and architecture critics. The Jury for the prize comprises Mario Botta, the Chairman, architects Emilio Ambasz (New York) and Valentin Bearth (Chur), who is also the Director of the Accademia di architettura in Mendrisio, as well as Zhi Wenjun (Shanghai) and Davide Croff, a former President of the Venice Biennale.
Adjaye Associates (London, UK): Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver
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“For BSI Bank, investing in culture has always meant helping to raise awareness of the importance of science and the arts in our daily lives and for the sustainable development of society”, commented Alfredo Gysi, Chairman of the Executive Board of BSI AG and Member of the BSI Architectural Foundation. “Thanks to the merger of Banca del Gottardo into BSI, our commitment has now extended to architecture with the awarding of this prize. The award is the culmination of two years of work by the Architectural Foundation, which was set up by Banca del Gottardo and which now forms a valuable part of the heritage of the whole BSI Group”.
the NEXTenterprise (Vienna, Austria): Lakeside Bath, Caldaro - Kaltern
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Mario Botta added: “This award represents an opportunity to recognise and raise the international profile of architects who can make an outstanding contribution to contemporary architectural culture. It is also a good occasion to reflect critically on ideas that favour first an ethical and then an aesthetic approach. The names selected can be considered as some of the most important architects working internationally today. Their sensitivity and professional commitment in their countries of origin highlight their diverse hopes (both fanciful and realistic), in contrast to the contradictions and confusion that are rife today in the debates within the field”.
Antonio Jimenez Torrecillas (Granada, Spain): Dal Bat Showroom, Granada
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This is the first edition of the competition, which will be held every two years. The prize fund is CHF 100,000. The award is attributed to an architect aged under 50, of any nationality, who has produced at least three major works that meet the aims of the competition.
The candidates are selected by a team of international advisors, each one of whom can nominate up to three entrants who meet the criteria and objectives of the award. The members of the team of advisors are: Laurent Beaudouin, Nancy, Gonçalo Byrne, Lisbon, Alberto Campo Baeza, Madrid, Massimo Carmassi, Florence, Roberto Collovà, Palermo, Kenneth Frampton, New York, Dan S. Hanganu, Montreal, Yung Ho Chang, Beijing, Kengo Kuma, Tokyo, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, São Paolo, Boris Podrecca, Vienna, Anant Raje, Ahmedabad and Bruno Reichlin, Paris and Mendrisio.
Shuhei Endo (Osaka, Japan): Rooftecture S, Kobe
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The candidates for this year’s award are:
3LHD (Saša Begović, Marko Dabrović, Tanja Grozdanić, Silvije Novak), Zagreb (Croatia), Adjaye Associates, London (UK), Jesus Aparicio, Madrid (Spain), Solano Benitez, Asuncion (Paraguay), Gion A. Caminada, Vrin (Switzerland), Alfonso Cendron, Venice (Italy), Dominique Coulon, Strasbourg (France), Richard Francis-Jones, Sydney (Australia), the NEXTenterprise (Ernst J. Fuchs, Marie-Therese Harnoncourt), Vienna (Austria), Sean Godsell, Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Thomas Heatherwick, London (UK), Rick Joy, Tucson (USA), Alberto Kalach, Mexico City (Mexico), Francisco Mangado, Pamplona (Spain), Mansilla & Tuñon, Madrid (Spain), Francisco and Manuel Aires Mateus, Lisbon (Portugal), Rahul Mehrotra, Mumbai (India), Quintus Miller and Paola Maranta, Basel (Switzerland), Marco Navarra – Studio Nowa, Caltagirone (Italy), OFFICE dA (Nader Tehrani, Monica Ponce de Leon), Boston (USA), Valerio Olgiati, Chur (Switzerland), Promontorio Architectos (João Perloiro, João Luis Ferreira, Paulo Perloiro, Paulo Martins Barata, Pedro Appleton, Adrian Beloso-Baker), Lisbon (Portugal), Saša Randić, Idis Turato, Rijeka (Croatia), Joao Alvaro Rocha, Maia (Portugal), Enric Ruiz Geli (Cloud 9), Barcelona (Spain), S-M.A.O. (Juan Carlos Sancho, Sol Madridejos), Madrid (Spain), Beniamino Servino, Caserta (Italy), Shuhei Endo, Osaka (Japan), Antonio Jimenez Torrecillas, Granada (Spain) and Wang Shu, Hangzhou (China).
OFFICE dA (Boston, USA): Helios House, Los Angeles
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The winner will be announced on Wednesday 17 September 2008, at a press conference to be held in the Spazio inBSI at the BSI headquarters in Via Magatti 2, Lugano, Switzerland.
The prize-giving ceremony will take place on Thursday 13 November 2008 at the Accademia di architettura in Mendrisio, Switzerland. At the same time, the works submitted by the candidates will go on display in the gallery of the Accademia, and a catalogue of the exhibition will be published in both Italian and English.
About BSI Architectural Foundation
The BSI Architectural Foundation promotes knowledge, training and research in the field of architecture. It presents a biennal architectural award (BSI Swiss Architectural Award) and sponsors activities and projects as part of that event, including exhibitions, publications and presentations. The BSI Architectural Foundation is one of the BSI AG Foundations.
João Álvaro Rocha (Maia, Portugal): Tourism Office, Ponte de Lima
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Gallery of the Accademia di architettura in Mendrisio, Switzerland
Dates: 14 November 2008 - January 2009
Opening times: Tuesday-Sunday 1pm-6pm. Closed Monday. Admission free
Catalogue: In Italian and English, on sale to the public
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Popularity: 4% [?]
from Architectural Record
Image courtesy Studio Pei-Zhu
Studio Pei-Zhu, a Beijing-based firm, has designed a museum that will house the work of Yue Minjun, a Chinese contemporary artist known for his repetitive images of large, smiling figures.
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“While the devastating Sichuan earthquake in May left a large portion of Western China in ruins, signs are emerging that some notable building projects in the area are pushing forward. One of these projects is the Art Museum of Yue Minjun, designed by Beijing-based Studio Pei-Zhu, a 2007 Design Vanguard winner.
Located near the Qingcheng Mountains, and adjacent to the Shimeng River in Sichuan Province, the 10,700-square-foot museum will house the work of Yue Minjun, a Chinese contemporary artist known for his repetitive images of large, smiling figures. It will be one of 10 new museums on the same site, each dedicated to the work of an influential Chinese artist. Zhang Xiaogang and Wang Guangyi are among the other artists to be showcased. The complex, which is being developed by the local government of Dujingyuan, is the brainchild of Lu Peng, an art professor at the China Central Academy of Fine Art.
Images courtesy Studio Pei-Zhu
The Yue Minjun museum will contain exhibition space and a small artist’s studio. According to Pei Zhu, one of the firm’s principals, a river rock that he picked up one day inspired the building’s form—a large, oblong sphere. “Everything is based on the natural stone, which has a very strong relationship between the creek and the mountain and nature,” explains Zhu.
Image courtesy Studio Pei-Zhu
On the exterior, curvilinear walls will be clad in highly polished zinc, a soft metal that blends in with the natural surroundings while also giving the building a futuristic look. “Normally, architects will use a local material and vernacular language,” says Zhu. “We believe we needed to make something both futuristic and very natural.” It’s a striking departure from another recent project designed by the firm for the 2008 Summer Olympics: Digital Beijing, a control center whose façade resembles computer circuitry.
Image courtesy Studio Pei-Zhu
Work is already underway on the art museum. Site preparation began earlier this year, and the building should be completed by early 2009. Zhu says the earthquake delayed the project a mere three months, at most. “The developer still really wants to push this project [forward],” he says, “and we think that this will still benefit the society and the city.”
Images courtesy Studio Pei-Zhu
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Popularity: 4% [?]
from Dezeen
” Photographer Cristobal Palma has sent us this recent set of images taken at the unfinished International Fair of Tripoli, Lebanon, by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.
Construction stopped in 1975 at the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war and was never restarted.
The 10,000 hectare site comprises 15 buildings by Niemeyer and was added to the World Monuments Fund’s list of 100 most endangered sites in 2006, in response to plans to turn the site into a theme park.” Dezeen
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Popularity: 4% [?]
from Dezeen
” Here’s a second new project by Dutch architets UNStudio: these images show a proposed flagship store for fashion house Louis Vuitton in Japan.
The location and construction schedule of the ten-storey building are secret for now.
The following information is from UNStudio:
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Flagstore Louis Vuitton, Japan
The design for the 10 storey (54 meter tall) flagship Louis Vuitton store in Japan aims to establish an architectural equivalent of the identity of Louis Vuitton in which classical and modern qualities are blended, reinforcing each other. The design inspires the visitor with a feeling of being in the House of Louis Vuitton by celebrating the qualities that make up the essence of the company, its products, its history and its future….”
Read The rest of the entry on Dezeen
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